In Search of the Leader
by Sailor Unico
Summary: Serena Tsukino is an ordinary 14 year-old with a happy life -- until her family decides to move back to Tokyo...a place she hasn't seen since she was a child. She has no idea what awaits her there: a talking cat...four teenage warriors without a leader..


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In Search of the Leader  
  
PROLOGUE  
  
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I stepped off the plane, and walked through the portable hallway that would take me to the lobby, where my destiny was -- hopefully -- waiting. I say "hopefully" because I was told secondhand that they would be awaiting my arrival. I was told that they needed a leader. The only thing I wasn't told was whether or not they even cared.  
  
My blonde hair rode on the air currents shifting around me, partly from how fast I was going and partly because of the thin slits in between the boards that made up the walls. I was nervous. Understandably. There's nothing like meeting with your destiny to get your heart pounding...your stomach doing roller-coaster loops...your brain imagining countless scenarios...countless ways for the meeting to go wrong.  
  
A small part of me wished almost for an instant, in that last moment before I reached the end of the makeshift hallway and stepped into the light of the airport lobby, that my parents could have come along. "Just a few odds and ends to tie up with the house here," I recalled my mother saying warmly. "Aunt Emma will take good care of you until we can make it to Tokyo."  
  
I realized that Mother would have had quite a lot to say had she known I had taken the liberty of calling Aunt Emma myself and telling her that some friends were going to be meeting me at the airport, and that she needn't worry about being there herself.  
  
And then I saw the three girls, and I was suddenly aware of how inappropriate the word "friends" had really been.  
  
It was difficult to recognize them at first. I had only seen a snapshot after all, and there were so many people crowding around us.  
  
But there could be no mistake. Once I saw the raven haired beauty tapping her foot impatiently, at times checking her watch. Once I saw the tall brunette next to her, turned to look out the window to wordlessly gaze at the arriving and departing airplanes. Once I saw the mousy, shy thing seated in one of the many blue cushioned chairs -- reading the kind of science book that looked as if you couldn't get a copy unless you were a college student. Or really, really smart.  
  
It was them.  
  
And friendliness was definitely *not* what this trio was radiating.  
  
The voice from the kitty-carrier I grasped in my fists whispered: "Do you see them yet?"  
  
I did not answer, because at that moment, simultaneously, all three turned to stare at me. It was almost as if it had been planned. The beauty, the brunette, the brain. All three looked toward me...as if they expected something more than what they saw.  
  
Who knew what they were anticipating? A holy angel sent from heaven to lead them in a war against evil forces? Shining light down from the sky? Perhaps a Sailor fuku. Or maybe the kitty carrier was taking away from the overall effect.  
  
It didn't really matter what they had expected. What they got was Mina Aino, age 14...formerly known as the magnificent Sailor V, fighter for justice. They got Mina Aino, and her cat companion Artemis, who was kicking around in his box-like compartment, anxious for a look at the girls who would be Sailor V's partners. They got Mina Aino, who was currently having a good deal of trouble keeping that gross airplane food from making a reappearance all over the floor.  
  
Maybe my expectations had been too high. Of course I hadn't expected them to fall all over themselves, bowing, offering to kiss my feet. And of course I have NEVER wanted girls to become my friends just because of my social standing. But, even I had to look at the situation realistically: I was the model for a wildly popular fictional super-heroine. Normally when people recognized me, they were pulling out autograph cards and snapping pictures. And these girls weren't even smiling. Talk about your humbling experiences.  
  
The raving beauty walked over first, calm, cool, and collected, and stuck out her hand. "Raye Hino," she said with an air of self-confidence.  
  
I took her hand, smiled my most winning smile, and introduced myself.  
  
Behind Raye was the brunette. Her face was expressionless, and she did not offer her hand in friendship. Rather she blinked nonchalantly and said, "Lita Kino."  
  
And then, from behind Lita, stepped the brain with the book in her hands. She nodded uneasily at me, and immediately lowered her eyes. "Amy Mizuno pleased to meet you Mina..." all in one breath, directed at the ground.  
  
I tried to smile, hard and bright...as Raye led me out, down the corridor, toward the baggage claim. No one said anything. No words were needed.  
  
The Sailor Scouts needed a leader, and in me, well, they just didn't sense those kinds of qualities. Neither did I, for that matter, in myself.  
  
Which is why finding Sailor Moon would be my number one priority, no matter what.  
  
  
  
My name is Mina Aino. And this is the story of the search for Sailor Moon. It's also the story of the equally important search for the reincarnated Moon Princess.  
  
And of course, the story of a school girl named Serena Tsukino...who is getting ready to move back to Tokyo after eight years of being away.  
  
~~~end prologue~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
* Author Notes *  
  
The remainder of the story will be narrated third person. Chapter 1 will start off in the Japanese city of Nagoya, with the Tsukino family preparing to move back to Tokyo. The Sailor Scouts, meanwhile, are going through the search for the Rainbow Crystals.  
  
Disclaimer of course: Sailor Moon belongs to TOEI, DIC, CWi, Bandai, but most of all, to the extraordinary Naoko Takeuchi.  
  
Feedback and reviews are, as always, appreciated. :-) The e-mail is sailorunico@aol.com 


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